For A Ragger’s Pleasure

Prologue

Ragging has become an everyday term in colleges of India today. Although the very evolution of this practice is debatable, its contemporary existence is of more importance both for the students as well as for the institution. At it’s best, ragging can be fun, informative and a catalyst for personality development, but all this overshadowed by the dark and menacing silhouette of it’s evil incarnation, which more often than, not gets quite out of hand…

Shivani Awasthi had finally made it – to her ever-cherished collage, studying the course she wanted to do so much. In short, she had gained admission in 1^st Year MBBS at one of the prestigious Delhi Medical Colleges. Apart from being a good student, Shivani was good looking and loved to ‘Freak out’ haunting discos, Restaurants, pubs and movies.

Shivani’s seniors hated this. Being a Fresher, she was supposed to remain in the hostel at all times (except for attending classes), lead an austere life and follow a strict code of conduct (which of course was an invisible set of rules devised by the seniors themselves). With every passing day this resentment grew and soon the seniors felt that Shivani had to be taught a lesson she had to be ragged properly.

Shivani’s crash course in humility would start with a bang. None other than Pooja Bedi (a final year student and a legendary ragger) would be entrusted with the job. Pooja was credited to be an ingenious inventor of unique and effective ragging techniques.

It took Pooja three days to come up with a ‘Plan of Action’, but once conceived, the idea was unbeatable, highly entertaining (for the seniors) and scary! It would not be difficult for a Final Year Medical student to obtain a dissected leg of a ‘used up’ human cadaver from the college morgue. Neither would it be impossible to place the dreadful object on Shivani’s door would release a string mechanism to swing the ‘Leg’ straight into Shivani’s face! 

“What fun it will be – looking at Shivan’s terrified face when the leg drops on her!” exclaimed Pooja.

“Yes. Her reaction will be worth watching. Boy! Won’t she learn a lesson from this!” agreed others.

Shivani was a ‘fresh student’ and the seniors had heard that unlike them, she was really afraid of corpses and dissection.

Which day and time could be better than Saturday night! The ‘victim’ was sure to go out and return late in the night. In the meantime all arrangements could be made and the stage set.

Shivani left at 7.00 p.m. and was to return by around 11 O’clock in the night. No sooner did she leave, than ‘behind the back’ arrangements commenced. At 10 O’clock everything was ready and the seniors anxiously began waiting for Shivani’s return. The plan was to wait outside the fateful room when the girl entered and then rush inside in unison to watch the fun.

She did not come at 11 O’clock. The general excitement in anticipation at the hostel gradually waned with nightfall and sleep took control of most of the girls. 12 O’clock, and the last of the ‘girls in waiting’ including Pooja took to their beds. In their sleep, the seniors soon forgot that they had laid a surprise for Shivani.

Shivani finally came at 1.30 a.m. It was drizzling outside, making the weather cool. She was wet and cold, wanting to take refuge in the warmth of her good old room. As she came up to her floor, she noticed near total silence. The corridors were empty and dark. Without ay reason she just stood still for some time, listening for any small sound she could hear. A subtle chill ran down her (Why? she could not figure out whether it was mere chill or intuition or …). Anyway, she continued towards her room and on reaching it, slowly opened the door ….

A violent and bloodcurdling scream was all they heard. It jolted the others out of their sleep. It was Shivani. There was general rush towards the beastly sound to ‘check out the scene’.

What the girls saw then, they simply could not describe later on. Even now, they shiver while trying to narrate the scene. It was appalling. It was horrifying. Pooja Bedi, on seeing what she had done actually went mad! Some girls were dumbfounded while the others were sobbing loudly.

Shivani’s door was ajar and an eerie light beam from within was piercing the darkness outside. Shivani was no longer herself. She was on the floor, in a trance-in an unimaginably horrible posture. Her hairs were perfectly stiff, standing up as if they had been electrocuted. Her eyes were blank and bulging out. The face was pale as if all traces of blood had drained away from it. And in Shivani’s hands was mutilated, dissected human leg, her teeth sunk into it’s flesh…

Two days later, Shivani died of intense trauma and shock. Pooja Bedi is still in the Agra mental asylum, telling people stories about ‘legs and leg eaters’.

Epilogue

Friends, this is not fiction. The narrated incident really did occur a few years ago in a famous Medical College in Delhi. The names of characters and places have been changed to protect their identities. It is high time that the student community and youngsters of today realize what a price one can pay for a meager amount of fun. We are at the cross roads where one has to decide whether we want more and more fun at the cost of more Shivani’s and Pooja’s, or whether we can sacrifice this enjoyment of harsh ragging once and for all. The choice, friends, is ours….

Santhegudde Cricketers Barkur